Strategic Projects Manager

Zipline; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is hiring for a highly cross-functional role focused on community engagement and external presence as we expand into new markets. You will own programs that engage residents, partners, and first responders, coordinating events, newsletters, and materials while partnering with cross-functional teams to ensure consistent, effective external engagement.

The role requires a strong project manager with excellent written and verbal communication, able to manage ambiguity and keep multiple

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in project management, events, or external affairs.
• Experience producing events or community programs for public, partner, or customer audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication with sound judgement on sensitive topics.
• Ability to manage multiple external-facing workstreams and deadlines.
• Ability to travel 20–40% based on project needs.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end management for community engagement and market-launch programs.
• Plan and execute open houses, demonstrations, briefings, tours, launch events, and activations.
• Create stakeholder communications, newsletters, FAQs, and talking points explaining Zipline’s operations.
• Coordinate with local teams to support market readiness and external engagement.
• Track attendance, follow-ups, and learnings to improve future launch plans.

Skills

Project management

Events planning

Community engagement

External affairs

Stakeholder communications

Cross-functional collaboration

Travel

Tools

MS Office

Slack/Teams

Job description

About Zipline

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.

Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.

We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About You and The Role

Zipline builds, manufactures, and operates autonomous delivery systems that help communities access what they need. As we enter new markets, clear, accurate engagement with residents, partners, first responders, and local stakeholders is essential to launch readiness and lasting trust.

This is a highly cross-functional role for someone who is organized, proactive, and comfortable operating in ambiguity. You will help build the systems, materials, processes, and programs that support Zipline’s external presence in the communities and markets where we operate or plan to launch.

You may own a community event one week, build a stakeholder newsletter the next, coordinate launch materials for a new market, manage follow-ups from a public demo, or help create a repeatable process for external engagement across multiple cities. The right person is a strong project manager, thoughtful communicator, and detail-oriented operator who can keep multiple workstreams moving without losing sight of the bigger picture.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working across teams, building structure from scratch, and helping external audiences experience Zipline in a clear, consistent, and compelling way.

What You'll Do

• Own end-to-end project management for priority community engagement and market-launch programs, including objectives, workplans, owners, milestones, risks, and follow-through.
• Plan and execute community open houses, public demonstrations, stakeholder briefings, tours, launch events, and local activations, including vendors, venues, registrations, run-of-show, materials, and onsite coordination.
• Create clear stakeholder communications, newsletters, FAQs, talking points, briefing documents, and follow-up materials that explain Zipline’s robotics, autonomy, aviation, safety, and operating model.
• Partner with Community Engagement Managers on local relationship needs while owning the program structure, materials, coordination, and follow-up required to support market readiness.
• Coordinate with Communications, Marketing, Operations, Legal, Government Affairs, Safety, Customer, and local market teams to resolve decisions, dependencies, and external-facing risks
• Track attendance, engagement, follow-ups, completion, and stakeholder learnings; use findings to improve future launch plans, communications, and community programs.

What You'll Bring

• 5+ years of experience in project management, events, community engagement, public affairs, external affairs, operations, or a related function.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple external-facing workstreams, stakeholders, deadlines, and deliverables from unclear starting points through completion.
• Experience producing events, stakeholder communications, newsletters, campaigns, launches, or community programs for public, partner, or customer audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with sound judgment on sensitive topics, public-facing materials, and executive-facing projects
• Ability to move between program strategy and execution, from defining an approach to building trackers, drafting materials, coordinating details, and closing follow-ups.
• High attention to detail, a consistent quality bar, and comfort working across teams with competing priorities and timelines.
• Ability to travel 20-40% based on project and launch needs, with occasional evening or weekend onsite support for external programs.

What Else You Need To Know

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech.